Teenage Desperation
by Zan
Summary: Angst-shmanks. Just when being a teenager can't possibly be anymore unbearable, Ephram Brown gets a taste of what teenage desperation actually is when his next door neighbor, Nina, gets company.
1. Welcome to Hell, May I Take Your Jacket?

o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE_Well, first I'd like to say, this is my first attempt at an Everwood fic, so please be lenient in your reviews! I mean, criticism is a must, but please don't go Hitler on me and completely massacre my self-esteem! I would like to keep some self-motivation at least until I turn 20. Secondly, I am going to try and make everyone happy. So, here I am saying, your opinions count and I will take them all into serious consideration. In fact, you guys are the reason I'm writing, so what kind of entertainer would I be if I refuse to listen to what the people have to say?! Thirdly, lastly, and most importantly, yes, I am going to have a new person coming to Everwood. Actually, I'm going to have three people coming to Everwood. I know there's an overabundance in those, but I'm going to try my hardest to add a quirk to this that separates it from the rest. And please, take in the sequence of the story before you label this a Mary Sue. I come across too many people who don't like new characters and automatically assume it's a Mary Sue just to discourage and piss the writer off. If you don't like my story just because you don't like change or someone new just so happens to grace it, tough! Cry me a damn river, for all I care.....It's just a story, and if you don't like the idea, all I can say is don't read it. Point blank. OK, whoo, being the stern, tell-it-as-it-is advisee sure is exhausting! *wipes forehead* Hopefully, I don't have to make too many trips back to the bitter personality of my Jekyll and Hyde schizophrenia. HeHe. Anyway, on to the story after these brief messages!  
  
DISCLAIMER_Sadly, I don't own Everwood. *snaps fingers* Damn, there goes my future ambitions....but I do own, Brooklyn, Jocelyn, and Jayden Rayder. They are my creations and I can do whatever my evil intentions pleases with them, MWHAHAHAHA!!! *chokes* o_O -[weirdo]  
  
TITLE_Teenage Desperation  
  
SUMMARY_Angst-shmanks. Just when being a teenager can't possibly be anymore unbearable, Ephram Brown gets a taste of what teenage desperation actually is when his next door neighbor, Nina, gets company.  
  
RATING_I'm gonna give this a hearty PG-14. For language and some adult situations.  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
"Give me back the CD player! It's mine to begin with!"  
  
Brooklyn Rayder sat back against the train's cushioned seat while her eyes swept across the horizon and explored the scenery and very essence of Denver, Colorado. Snow. Mountains. Clear skies. The picture her mind's eye was developing seemed like it belonged on the front of a greeting card instead of existing in reality. Almost like a fantasy. Is this what Everwood was going to look like? If so, she was going to hate it. It didn't take rocket science and any other form of mathematical or scientific evaluation to come to that conclusion.  
  
Jocelyn leaned forward and grabbed the CD player in her sister's hands without showing any sign of retribution for her immature and greedy display of initiative. But, unfortunately for the younger twin, Brooklyn snapped out of her thoughts involuntarily to face her predator with an unhappy disposition while snatching the musical device from the thief's grasp back angrily.  
  
"It's my CD player, Brooklyn, give it back! I wanna listen to it."  
  
"I'm sorry, but from my perspective, my eyes seem to tell me your name is no where to be found on this fine electrical device. Well, that is if your name is Sony," Brooklyn retorted while quirking a pessimistic eyebrow up questionably.  
  
"It's my CD player and you know it," Jocelyn shouted in fury while shooting her companion a venomous look, "I would think I didn't need my name on my things to prove it to my own family."  
  
"Well, I would think you should tell it to your attorney or even better, someone who actually cares."  
  
Jocelyn huffed and entwined her arms across her chest, defeated. She hated it when her sister did this. They were twins, after all, the same exact age. Who cares if she was born fifteen minutes prior to Brooklyn? Didn't she still deserve respect instead of being treated like a barely coherent infant?   
Life just wasn't fair and that fact became clearly evident when their mother was taken from them not too long ago.  
  
Brooklyn looked over at Jocelyn and frowned before explaining, "Listen, we gotta stick together, OK? Mom's gone. Dad doesn't want anything to do with us. We have a baby brother that I can't raise on my own. And a world that seems to want nothing more than to screw our family over. And what better way to accomplish that goal than to send us to the middle of nowhere where we'll be living with an aunt we barely know. We've gotta stick to the same wavelength and not argue over childish things like who's CD player this just so happens to be."  
  
"There's no argument. It's my CD player," Jocelyn grumbled, keeping her arms crossed and her stare dead ahead as she twirled a strand of long brown hair between her fingertips.  
  
"That's besides the point," Brooklyn sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose nervously, "the point is for the first time, we actually have to start acting like family."  
  
The girls stared at each other for a split second as both were wordlessly bound to a metaphysical contract. She was right. If they drifted apart now, when they actually needed each other the most, it would be game over. They may have stood a chance going their sperate ways back in Arizona, but they weren't in Arizona anymore. They were both in new territory where nothing would ever be the same. If they decided to remain divided now, there would be absolutely no hope left.  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
Brooklyn averted her gaze from her sister to the small, curled figure of her younger brother in the seat across from them. His large eyes fluttered innocently open, not focusing on anything, as his small hands gripped onto the cushion below him. Smiling down at his vulnerable appearance, she stated, "Almost. Try and get some more sleep."  
  
"Can you play me a song," Jayden asked softly yet hopeful at the same time.  
  
"Not now. But when we get to Aunt Nina's I promise I'll play you two," the eldest twin replied raising her hand up sincerely, "scout's honor."  
  
Smiling, Jayden closed his eyes once again and gave a small sigh of content. It worried Brooklyn and Jocelyn what frame of mind their brother would experience with the loss of his mother. Not only with the loss of his only parental guardian but also the loss of his sight. It wasn't easy taking care of an emotional blind boy, but they loved him beyond comparison and there was nothing they wouldn't do for him. In a way, he was incredibly fortunate for his lack of sight because the vision of their mother, lying frail and immobile on the hospital bed wasn't exactly something someone wanted to stay with.  
  
"So what do you think our dear aunt is gonna say when she sees your tattoo?" Jocelyn replied while looking down at the side of her sister's inked waist and smirking smugly.  
  
"Knowing Nina, she'd probably grab the nearest potato peeler and tell me to 'take care of it.' Who knows? Maybe if it's my lucky day, which I highly doubt it is, she'll prevent me from being conscious during the act."  
  
"But then, what's the fun in that," Jocelyn proclaimed, throwing her hands up playfully, eyes twinkling under the bright sunlight of Denver's misleading rays of sunshine.  
  
"Exactly, so let's just pray she doesn't notice it. I'm too young to be considered an interesting addition to the museum of abnormalities," Brooklyn answered, cringing visibly at the thought of her stomach becoming fleshless due to her aunt's impending rage.  
  
Jocelyn chuckled and lightly smacked her sister upside the head.   
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
The sun shone brightly over Everwood as the atmosphere contained a certain peacefulness many people could only dream about in slumber. As some proceeded to clean off their cars from the previous night's minor snowfall, others greeted their neighbors with a wave of the hand and a smiling face. The routine was like a constant cycle but luckily, there were people like the Browns with their dysfunctional family to add a little color to the bland black and white world of abnormal perfection.  
  
BEEP BEEP!  
  
"Hurry up, kiddo, the bus is here," Dr. Andrew Brown called out to his youngest child from the kitchen while carefully pouring himself a cup of coffee and intently looking down at the newspaper.  
  
"Why do you always insist on looking at the newspaper? We're not in New York anymore. The most colorful story you could possibly read in that thing would have to be the daring misadventures of a kid with a nickel stuck up their nose," Ephram Brown commented sarcastically while grabbing a cereal bar from the cabinet and a glass from the counter, "I mean, you don't even get the occasional 'Timmy's stuck in a well' headline. This town is seriously deprived"  
  
"Well, there's always a possibility of the crime rate skyrocketing even if it is in the low percentile," Dr. Brown pointed out while placing the paper down gently, "And that tragic day when the low percentile downfalls into nonexistent will be the day I stop subscribing."  
  
"Bye, Dad! Bye, Ephram!" Delia shouted while rushing down the steps and out towards the door where her ride was awaiting patiently.  
  
"Hey, hey! Do you have your lunch? I wouldn't want my youngest and only daughter dying from malnutrition!"  
  
Delia stopped abruptly and looked back at her father who stood at the doorway into the kitchen with his arms crossed expectantly. Gracing him with a half-smirk, she replied, "I'm buying lunch today."  
  
Trying to make another getaway, Delia was once again intercepted by her father's incessant questioning, "Buying lunch? Who gave you the money?"  
  
"Well, dad, I think it was my lucky day. I was getting ready for school and I found some money lying around in my drawer. Can you believe it," Delia exclaimed in false advertisement, shrugging her shoulders as she batted her eyelashes innocently. She was only a child, but a Brown always seemed to know how to use their most valuable assets since they were mere fetuses. It was a gift.   
  
"Found it lying around in your drawer," Dr. Brown asked suspiciously, "You're nine. The only thing of value you could come across lying around in your drawer is lint or a missing sock."  
  
Delia smiled and proclaimed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Ephram gave me the money. Bye!"  
  
Before Andrew Brown could add in another question, the small brunette was already out the door and quickly jogging towards the school bus. Quirking an eyebrow up, he then proceeded to ask his son what his little sister was up to. If he couldn't corner one child, he sure as hell was going to corner the other. It was one of the simple joys of having two children instead of one.  
  
"Is it true you gave Delia money for lunch?"  
  
Ephram looked up from his glass of Orange Juice and immediately declared, "Oh, damn, look at the time. I'm gonna be late for school."  
  
"It's only 6:45, you usually don't leave until 7:00."  
  
"I need an eligible parking space. Kids these days are extremely greedy."  
  
"You don't drive."  
  
"True. But a bike is still considered a viechle, ergo, it deserves equal treatment in parking rights. Later!"  
  
Dr. Brown reluctantly allowed Ephram to pass by him and hurry towards the door. Before he saw his son exit the warmth of his home, he shouted one final statement to place him at number one in their daily diversion of an argument, "You know, you're going to have to tell me some time!"  
  
The door slammed closed. End of discussion.  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
"I thought Aunt Nina was supposed to be here by 8:00?"  
  
"She is."  
  
"Then I must be reading my clock wrong because it says it's 10:00," Jocelyn snorted while tapping on the face of her watch to signify she was getting nervous, "I should have known we couldn't trust her. I mean, we hardly know her, maybe she changed her mind on taking us in. It wouldn't be the first time, you know."  
  
Brooklyn kept a tight hold on Jayden, mostly to keep some sort of body heat between them, and continously pushed his dark glasses over his eyes. It was extremely hot on the day they left Arizona and she didn't know Colorado was going to be 'this' cold, so she decided on wearing a cami, which would most likely be considered a little provocative in this tight knit town, along with a faded denim peacoat styled jacket. The small child in her arms began shivering a little, so she proceeded to hold him against her a little tighter while rubbing his back with her bare hand.  
  
"Maybe we should just hop a bus. I mean, we have the address just in case," the youngest twin explained rationally, rubbing her hands together, and stomping her feet softly. She was almost dressed equally to Brooklyn so warmth wasn't exactly on her side at the moment. The best she could do was close her eyes and imagine warm, sandy beaches with temperatures no lower than ninety.  
  
"No, we can't just leave," Brooklyn replied, almost distancing herself away from her sister's questioning as she allowed her eyes to travel back and forth among the crowd to spot any familiar faces.  
  
"C'mon, let's just take a bus. I'm really cold and what's the good of meeting our hostess-to-be if we die from hypothermia!"  
  
"We have no idea where we are. No money. Clothing which wouldn't even come close to counting as proper winter apparel. And no shelter if we possibly do get lost. So, Steve, if you can pull out your handy dandy notebook and draw us a way out of this fatal predicament than I'll gladly catch a bus to God only knows where. But until then, shut up with your complaining because it's getting us nowhere except a step closer to insanity," Brooklyn exploded angrily while allowing a loud sneeze to abrupt viciously from her quivering mouth.  
  
"You know, you really have to stop reading Blue's Clues to Jayden before he goes to bed. Sadly, you're even associating it's content into your insults," Jocelyn said as a matter-of-factly, keeping her eyes closed, and picturing a tropical paradise just waiting for her arrival.  
  
"Bite me."  
  
"Brooklyn? Jocelyn? Is that you?"  
  
Snapping her eyes open, Jocelyn asked suspiciously yet extremely hopeful, "Aunt Nina?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm so sorry I'm late! I had to take Sam to school before I came to pick you two up," Nina apologized as she approached the three awaiting siblings and immediately placed a stray strand of long blonde hair behind her ear.  
  
"You could have gone to China! Who cares! You're here and we can finally go into temperatures above freezing," Jocelyn shrieked excitedly while grabbing a single suitcase of luggage by her leg and rushing by her aunt to eagerly approach a warm and comfortably toasted car.  
  
"Jocelyn? Right," Nina asked laughing while pointing to the retreating girl quickly before loosing sight of her.  
  
"Yeah, you can tell by the countless number of screws loose in her head. Thank God it's just her and not hereditary," Brooklyn muttered with a small grin while watching her sister skip happily down the stairs of the Denver Train Station.  
  
"You know, your mother was a lot like her. Very eccentric....."  
  
"I think it's about time to leave. We're not exactly being exposed to picnic weather," the brunette immediately responded while gripping one hand around her little brother and the other on the handle of her suitcase.  
  
"Right. We can talk later," Nina offered, moving slowly away from her niece, and towards the parked car in awkward silence. The trip back to Everwood, Colorado remained just as low key between the two, Jocelyn's joyful recollection of how nice the train ride had been being the only ice breaker. Thank the heavens this girl wasn't shy.  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
Ephram walked towards his locker as the final bell of the day was signaled only mere moments ago. Opening it's compact, metal door, he placed the lock back on it's handle before replacing unnecessary books from his book bag for needed books from his locker. The day had been an incredibly long one as he unfortunately spotted Amy more than once while switching classes and during lunch. Why did it have to be so difficult? She had made it painfully clear she didn't want anything to do with him because of the guilt she felt for Colin and her friends' obscene remarks about their friendship. So if that was the case, why did his heart still break whenever she walked by, smiled, or flipped her hair a certain way. Maybe he was going crazy, or maybe he just couldn't get over her.  
  
"Hey, Ephram."  
  
He spun around and faced a pair of brown eyes which have attracted him since the day she had first approached him. Amy Abbott. This girl had some serious voodoo magic when it came to men and their emotions. It was part of the reason why he detested her so much, but in a way, it was also why he wanted her equally as badly. Just the way his heart seemed to increase pace every time she came within breathing distance of him. It wasn't fair, but then again, neither was life in general.  
  
"So, what's going on, Amy? Have your friends finally quit their ambitious surveillance of who you speak to or did Colin finally give his wholehearted permission to associate with people of the opposite sex? Please, do tell, because I'm dying to know," Ephram retorted while slamming his locker shut, zipping his book bag shut, and walking away from the girl who would break his heart for the last time.  
  
"Ephram, please. You're not being fair," Amy advised, keeping herself leaned against the lockers while watching the closest friend she has ever had since Colin's accident walk away from her. She knew she was being hypocritical, but she didn't care. She missed him and all the conversations they used to have.   
  
"I'm not being fair? Maybe you should sit yourself down and re-evaluate your choice of words because I've been nothing but fair to you! You used and than discarded me like some napkin at a fast food restaurant more than on one account. You call that fair? I came to the conclusion after these past couple of months that you're not the idiot for waiting by like some martyr while your boyfriend's drifting around in a coma, but I am for thinking once it wasn't the Great Doctor Brown you were hanging around me for, but it was because you actually wanted to get to know 'me.' It's done, Amy, it's starting to get old," Ephram finalized as his face darkened slightly, "And what's ironic about this whole confrontation is while I'm making my dramatic soliloquy, you do nothing to defend yourself. Nothing to defend whatever ounce of friendship there might have been. So I guess that means there was nothing ever there to fight for in the first place."  
  
Shaking his head, Ephram turned back around and walked towards the double doors of the local county high school where Amy Abbott leaned back and kicked herself repeatedly for allowing the only person who saw past her title as 'Colin's girlfriend' get away.  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
"Anymore patients for the day, Edna," Doctor Brown asked unenthusiastically as he rubbed his temples dejectedly from a sharp headache. It was a long day and he couldn't wait to get home. The home where his rambunctious and often energetic children would be. Where his teenage son, who's always keen in participating in an intense argument, would be. Suddenly, he prayed there were more patients lined up for his professional medical expertise.  
  
"Nope, not at the moment, Doc. I guess it's safe to go back to the quarters and relax for the night. And judging from your facial expressions, I'm sure you're all for it," Edna replied, finishing the remainder of her filing before pushing her chair back and meeting Doctor Brown's groggy gaze, "you should go home and get some sleep."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But it's still a little early. It's only 3:30 in the afternoon," Andy acknowledged after looking down at his wristwatch thoughtfully. The clinic didn't usually close until promptly 5:00 or 4:00, if business was going a little slower than usual. He felt it a little unorthodox to just skip out of work just because of a small headache.  
  
"Go home, Doc! That's an order," the elderly assistant barked officially while smacking her boss upside the head with a spare file, knowing the impact it would have with his headache. Watching him wave in submission, Edna became pleased and nodded satisfied with her work, "Good. I'll see you here tomorrow at the normal time. Dismissed."  
  
Andrew Brown waved his hands once again and said his good-byes before removing his white doctor's jacket and swiftly replacing it with his rugged looking civilian jacket. He didn't need to be told twice to take a break when he was in pain. So with an ache in his head and a haste in his step, Andy exited the old-fashioned designed medical office and had no other destination in mind than home sweet home.  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
"Are the clothes you have one basically a foreshadowing of what's in your suitcases," Nina asked as she caught a short glimpse when both girls emerged from the once mobile veichle.   
  
"Basically," Jocelyn stated, keeping her hands in her pockets as her body temperature decreased sharply once again, "In Arizona, it never got extremely cold, so we could just wear what we normally wear with a jacket over it and be fine with it. We didn't think or have the money to actually go shopping for more appropriate attire when we found out we were going to live here with you."  
  
"Well, I guess we're just going to have to go out and get you some warmer clothes because you'll never make it without constantly getting sick in those shirts," the girls' aunt pointed out while gently gathering into her arms a sleeping version of Jayden from the back seat, being careful not to remove the glasses from his solemn face, "he's a quiet one. Does he always sleep this much?"  
  
"No, he hasn't been sleeping a lot so we're actually relieved he actually shut his eyes to rest up a little. Jayden's usually a bumbling ball of energy but ever since mom died, he hasn't been the same" Jocelyn answered, frowning sympathetically down at the little boy in her aunt's arms.  
  
"I see."  
  
The two conversationalists were quiet for a while, contemplating the deceased woman which had brought upon the impending destiny, as Brooklyn leaned against her aunt's car and studied the neighborhood quietly. It was boring, that was for starters. It was obvious just by looking at this sight and all the others while they were passing through from Denver that there was no good or bad side of Everwood, it was all pure. She could also even make a scientific guess the crime rate was unnaturally low. Well, at least compared to any other state in the United States of America.  
  
Just as the three females and the one slumbering male of the family remained in constant position, Andrew Brown pulled his SUV into the next door driveway, snapping Nina back to reality. Smiling brightly, the blonde waved and exclaimed in forced happiness to the emerging male, "Hey, Andy. How're you doing?"  
  
"Hello, Nina. I'm doing pretty good, just experiencing a killer headache I can't shake," Andy explained with a smile, staying by his car and studying the three new arrivals. Trying to figure out where he'd seen them, he finally had enough of the boring game of guess who and was bold enough to ask, "Are they your nieces or are you stowing away other children I had no idea existed?"  
  
Nina laughed softly and said, "No, you don't have to worry. These kids aren't mine, they're my nieces and nephew who are going to be staying with me for a while. Andy, this is Jocelyn, Brooklyn, and the little monster in my arms is Jayden. Girls [knowing Jayden wouldn't be awake for a proper introduction yet not referring to him] this is Doctor Andrew Brown. He's another new addition to Everwood."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Doctor Brown," Jocelyn politely instigated, giving a small wave and smile in greeting.   
  
"Nice to meet you too, girls," Andy replied, using pleural even though the other twin leaning by the car didn't bother responding, "you know, Ephram and Delia should be home by now. Why don't I go get them to make a proper introduction. I'm sure they'd be interested in getting to know the new addition to our neighborhood. I'll be right back."  
  
As Andrew Brown exited the scene to enter his small, yet extremely comfortable home, Nina turned towards Brooklyn and frowned in disappointment, "I know it isn't easy moving away from a well accustomed lifestyle, but you could have been a little more enthusiastic when you met our neighbor."  
  
"Yeah, I could have also jumped into oncoming traffic to avoid uncomfortable situations such as this," Brooklyn murmured softly, but loud enough for Nina to hear and produce yet another disapproving frown.  
  
"Listen, you're the one who said we had to adjust. So swallow your damn pride and adjust," Jocelyn ordered, turning around and eyeing her sister forcefully with a glint of rivalry shining in her blue eyes.  
  
"If you don't keep your comments to yourself, you'll sure be swallowing something, and it won't be your pride," Brooklyn threatened, scrunching up her nose and sticking her tongue out back at her sister to imitate her childish, wordless antic.  
  
"Girls, stop," Nina exclaimed softly, pointing to their amused guests standing behind the short stocked gate which separated both properties. Both girls looked up towards the Brown family as the polite and more eagerly awaiting twin gave a warm smile and small wave of salutation while Brooklyn merely moved around the car and next to her twin.  
  
"Well, girls, this is Delia," Doctor Brown illustrated by placing a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder, "she's my youngest and only daughter. Delia, meet Jocelyn and Brooklyn. They're going to be living with Nina for while."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Delia said shyly by her father's side as she involuntarily batted her eyelashes, making her seem more innocent that she already appeared.  
  
"Nice to meet you too, Delia," Jocelyn stated, giving the tomboy a dazzling smile to prove her greeting's honest sincerity. She couldn't help feeling a certain sympathy for this child. Delia looked, in a way, almost like Jayden which could possibly explain some of the emotions inside her.   
  
Brooklyn smiled down at Delia but said nothing to accompany her joyful facial expression. She didn't want to get too attached to anyone. Arizona had provided her with so many close friendships and opportunities for a close to happy life. Everything was going perfectly fine until child services had found out she was underage and taking care of her twin sister and little brother on her own. They had ripped them out of their home and put them in the middle of no-wheres-ville with nothing to call their own. They had taken away everything and who knows if that just might happen again?   
  
"And extremely happy fellow over here is Ephram," Andy exclaimed, nodding his head over at his son, "I would think he's about the girls' ages, right Nina?"  
  
"Yeah, that should be about right. Both Jocelyn and Brooklyn are sixteen so it should be right around Ephram," Nina answered, pleased that the girls would have someone their own age living next door. If anything, she was hoping they would make as many friends as they possibly could and adjust just as easily as they had in Arizona.   
  
"Perfect. Ephram just turned sixteen so if you girls need a tour around the town or help finding your way around school, he'll be happy to help you out."  
  
"Sure I will because my eager to help persona is just radiating from me like a bright ray of sunshine," Ephram mummered bitterly, not happy at all that his father had volunteered him without his permission. It wasn't that he didn't like to help people or possibly make new friends, but more of a pride issue. He hated how he always took the pilot's seat when it came to controlling people's lives. It was one of the many reasons why Ephram Brown never saw eye to eye with his father.  
  
"Please. Stop. You showering us with your profound enthusiasm is killing us," Brooklyn sarcastically spat, "Relax, we don't need your help. We're not directionally challenged and we're certainly not damsels in distress. So unless we're suddenly being tied to your local train tracks by a silent, yet incredibly diabolical mustached madman while a train is mere minutes away from transforming us into mangled corpses, I'm sure we'll be just fine."  
  
"Brooklyn, don't be such a bitch. They're just trying to be nice to us," Jocelyn hissed at her sister while grinning to lighten the load of awkwardness and their aunt's shocked yet slightly disappointed expression.   
  
"Well, stop! I don't need you people trying to be nice to me and I definitely don't need you all trying to make me fit in with the locals! So just do me a favor and leave the Beaver Cleaver, meet the neighbors, facade back in the fifties where it belongs," Brooklyn shouted angrily before pushing past her sister and aunt and entering the already unlocked, heated home without another word or side glance.  
  
"Brooklyn, wait," Jocelyn cried, jogging after her twin after waving one last friendly greeting at her new neighbors and entering the house which they would live in for God only knew how long. It was important that they fit in, and she was going to explain that simple yet extremely important fact to her no matter what it took.  
  
"Well, that went well," Ephram pointed out before imitating Brooklyn and Jocelyn's actions and entering the warmth of his home with his little sister in tow. That left Nina and Doctor Brown, standing idly by and awaiting just one word to start a conversation and end the unwanted uncomfortableness they were both experiencing.  
  
"Andy, I'm so sorry. She was just being rude, I'll have a talk with her," Nina apologized, running one of her hands through her locks in an almost what-did-I-get-myself-into gesture while the other remained holding securely onto the oblivious little boy.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Nina. Her outburst kind of reminded me of Ephram when we first moved to Everwood. You just have to be strict and incredibly patient with her. I'm sure after a while she'll come around," Doctor Brown explained, waving a hand as to excuse his neighbor's unnecessary platitude in good graces, "I'll talk to you soon."  
  
"OK."  
  
Nina watched Andy re-enter his own home after giving a short reassuring smile. Standing underneath the cloudless sky with a child, which wasn't even her own, in her arms, she whispered, "This is going to be one long year."  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o 


	2. Making Enemies is so Much Easier Than Ma...

o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
Teenage Desperation  
  
Chapter 2  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
Brooklyn laid awake on the guest bed, arms placed behind her head as cerulean eyes focused on the ceiling, scrutinizing it's boring structure. Just by merely observing the ivory walls caused her to yearn to be back in Arizona. In her own house. In her own space. In her own bed. The teenager's heart broke as she thought about all the people she left behind. People she had genuinely loved and who had loved her in return. She hated it here and she wasn't going to be timid in showing it. Immature? Maybe. But at this very moment in time, maturity was the last disposition in mind to express.  
  
Sighing, the brunette rolled over and closed her eyes. The immense pains in her chest were becoming almost unbearable. If it weren't for her overzealous thought process, Brooklyn wouldn't have even thought she was conscious. But then again, being unconscious would have been an immaculate blessing. And unfortunately, blessings weren't in the cards. Well, at least not at the time being.  
  
"Brooklyn? You awake?"  
  
"No. Go away," Brooklyn replied rather coldly, not even bothering to open her eyes for a clear view of the perpetrator.  
  
"What an incredible sense of humor. Forgive me of I choose not to laugh," Jocelyn dryly retorted while entering the silent room without any further words of permission.  
  
"What do you want? If it's to further lecture me on how much of a bitch I was to the Browns, you can save your breath. I get it and am in no mood to be forced to re-get it more than once today."  
  
"You should apologize to them."  
  
Brooklyn's eyes fluttered open as a frown creased her lips. Rubbing her temples, she proclaimed, "I said I got it, not that I regretted it. I meant every word I happened to have said. Just because we're twins and happened to have shared the same womb doesn't mean I follow the same rules of social etiquette you do."  
  
"It's not called social etiquette, it's called being polite. Not that you would know anything about that," Jocelyn sneered, frustrated at her sister's lack of cooperation. She was beginning to believe this was a lost cause. That maybe this girl would never adapt, not known to the self-anticipating hero that maybe she didn't want to.  
  
"Is this the part where I should be remorseful? Because if it is, I must have purposely missed the memo."  
  
"You can't stay cooped up without any social interaction. It's impossible."  
  
"Well, it was always a dream of mine to grace the Guinness Book of World Records and if I gave up now, my dream would never come true now would it," Brooklyn declared, closing her eyes once again to block out her sister's unsatisfied expression. She had seen that specific facial contraption more than she desired in one day.  
  
"You know, you're such a hypocrite," Jocelyn simply stated, not once even considering to run away from the battle her sister was waging. It was a constant debacle for the two sisters in their past, a sibling rivalry if you must call it, but this time was going to be different. This time Jocelyn wasn't going to turn her back. No, she was going to stand her own ground and prove to her twin how strong she actually was.   
  
Brooklyn opened her eyes, a glint of curiosity gracing the brilliant blue mischievously, "Please, do enlighten me and explain how that's so."  
  
Jocelyn leaned back against the wall and closed her own eyes thoughtfully, "You said, back on the train, that we had to make an effort to be the family we never were. You said we had to be on the same wavelength. Now how can we possibly be on the same wavelength when you're lying here like a bitter, brooding sixteen year-old going on sixty. By remaining on the same wavelength, it means we unfortunately gave to make Everwood our new home. You have to get it into your thick skull that this is our new home, we're not going back to Arizona. That's just a distant memory. So do yourself and all of us and suck it up and get over it!"  
  
The eldest twin smiled wickedly and erected her body into a sitting position, resting her elbows on her knees while narrowing her eyes on the wall where Jocelyn stood, "Did you come to that realization all by yourself or did a conversation with your mirror help you gain that profound M.C. Esher perspective? Because from where I'm sitting, that dramatic speech distinctly reeks of previous practice."  
  
The standing brunette fumed silently as her cheeks grew flushed from embarrassment. She was tired of trying to get Brooklyn to see that there was more to life than the familiar. This world was so beautiful but if she refused to see it then there was no hope left for conversion.   
  
"Forget it. This is pointless. Do whatever you want, I'm tired of trying to get you to open up," Jocelyn exclaimed exasperated while removing herself from the wall and beginning to exit the room without any expressed regrets.  
  
"Wait."  
  
Jocelyn froze at the doorway, not even bothering to turn around. She already gave her sister the benefit of power by keeping herself still with listening ears. She would be damned if she proved she was whipped by giving Brooklyn the satisfaction of facing her with a questioning and equally curious expression as well.  
  
"Your right. We're not going back home anytime soon," Brooklyn sighed, leaning back against the bed's headboard, "But even if that's so, that still doesn't make me wanna be here any more. I know why you wanna fit in so bad, but just understand nothing in life is what it should be because if it honestly way, we would be home with mom, not here with an aunt we barely know. Don't get your hopes it....it always ends up bad."  
  
"So is that your over-embellished way of saying you'll give human interaction a shot," the blue eyed girl by the door asked, turning around in hopeful anticipation.  
  
"Sure. After all, I have what else to do?"  
  
Jocelyn jumped up and down, swinging her arm in the air, excited. Spinning around, she grabbed her sister's coat and tossed it on the bed, "Great! We'll start tonight with a sincere apology to the Browns."  
  
"No, no, no," Brooklyn proclaimed, catching the thrown jacket and tossing it back at her sister, "I said I would have the inconvenience of human interaction, not repairing past mistakes and shattered egos!"  
  
Brooklyn's counterpart caught the coat and threw it back without reluctance, "Well, what better way to enter the wonderful world of human interaction than by taking the first step and admitting you were wrong."  
  
"Well, that's actually quite unfortunate because I don't tackle projects where fun's not a part of the equation. Sorry, come back and ask for my participation when amusement replaces debasement."  
  
"It's not debasement, just retribution. C'mon, stop being so damn stubborn," Jocelyn whined putting her hands on her hips and pouting with a quivering lip to add emotional effect.  
  
The conflicted teen rolled her eyes and didn't stop once to make an obvious fact apparent, "Just for future reference, I'm not your boyfriend or potential love interest. I don't find your persuasive body language endearing. In all actuality, I find it extremely annoying."  
  
"Fine. I'll drop the body language when you drop the sarcastic bitchy attitude," she crossly challenged back, twisting her plush lips in an evil I-got-you-right-where-I-want-you smile.  
  
Grabbing her jacket and hopping off of the comfortable bed, Brooklyn simply said, "Point taken."  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
Amy Abbott sat quietly on the couch in her exquisitely designed living room, a book in hand, and a cozy comforter placed over her long legs. The situation was growing to be rather annoying because as she read the words, nothing would stay in her head. It was almost as if she wasn't even reading at all. Tossing the book onto the coffee table in a frustrated manner, Amy ran her slightly trembling fingers through her long blonde hair and sunk down into the couch. Tomorrow, she would go visit Colin in Denver. It was a common thing but why wasn't she as excited? She was always excited when Colin was involved in any of her daily activities. And to make things even better, Doctor Brown had even agreed to perform the operation. It was only a matter of time before she and Colin would be walking down the street hand in hand like old times. But, back to square one. Why didn't that make her ecstatic?   
  
She knew why and it was only a matter of time before that simple fact would drive her mad. Ephram. He had been so great to her over the times that loneliness had plagued her being. The nights she would cry, Ephram would call "just to chat." Whenever she would space out, he would wave his hand in front of her face and tell her some absurd relation to how she looked at the moment when her grip on reality had left her. And when she would ditch him for her friends, Ephram would always forgive her and treat her as equally as he had before the incident. She missed him and now they would never have the certain bond they did before. Everything was absolutely ruined just because Amy couldn't see past her own selfish desires.  
  
Groaning, she slumped further down into her own self pity. Why did her life have to be a seesaw? Whenever something good would happen, it wouldn't be long before something bad would come along and ruin it. It's like the good would never be able to even out with the bad when it came to practical decision making in her life. The life which was beginning to suck more and more as time increased it's rapid speed through the impending days. And here Amy thought time was supposed to remove all obstacles and heal all wounds. What a load of bullshit.  
  
"Amy, sweetheart, it's time for dinner," Mrs. Abbott called from the dinning room.  
  
'Dinner. The perfect distraction from these disturbingly intense thoughts in my head. If only mom had put some kind of mind altering substance into the potatoes; now that would be something. Was that a little too taboo to be thinking about? Who really cares. I had a right to dream no matter how farfetched the dream happened to be, didn't I? These current dreams just happen to revolve around amnestic food products. God, just stop thinking!'  
  
So with a heavy heart and equally heavy conscious, Amy removed the blanket from her body and proceeded to join her family for their traditional, everyday, same time - same place meal. She was a little worried about her parents taking her silence into consideration, but then again, Bright would be there as well with his array of asinine comments unceasingly intact to his brain. Case closed.  
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
"Ephram! Delia! Time for dinner," Andrew Brown called from the kitchen to his children as a proud smile graced his rugged features, "and let me be the first to say I didn't do such a bad job this time."  
  
"And so the clock signifying our close demise begins winding down," Ephram murmured to his sister while reluctantly placing the comic book he was reading on the coffee table. If he had the choice, there would be no doubt that Ephram would ban his father's cooking. It wasn't even a selfish action, he was doing it for the good of mankind.  
  
"How long to you think it'll be until dad starts realizing he can't cook," Delia asked, following her older brother into the room where damage was undoubtedly close to being inflicted. Why did their father insist on fooling himself into thinking he could cook? He dissected cerebellums not pot roast. It didn't take much to figure that out.  
  
"Not soon enough."  
  
As if the fates heard the children's plea, there was a knock on the door followed by a short ring of the doorbell. Looking at each other, both Ephram and Delia rush towards the door as if their salvation lied on the other side. It didn't really matter if they looked desperate and extremely pathetic. If it kept Andrew Brown's cooking from entering their mouths and possibly cutting off circulation, they would sing a song and dance around on one leg.  
  
Practically sliding on the hardware floor, Ephram was about ready to give whoever was on the other side a big sloppy kiss of gratitude. Turning the knob and pulling back the door, he caught sight of twin girls who practically stood at his height. One was positioned with a friendly smile on her face while the other just basically hung by, no expression marked on her face. Confused, he suddenly realized they were Nina's nieces.   
  
"Can I help you," Ephram asked, narrowing his eyes from the warm twin to the other not so expressive one, "or rather would you like to talk to my dad. He doesn't usually specialize in unstable mental conditions but maybe he'll make an exception for you."  
  
"Wow, aside from being everyone's favorite suggested tour guide and now the knee slapping so incredibly hilarious comedian, you never once fail to show me how much of a pompous asshole the multitalented can actually be," Brooklyn spat back angrily, crossing her arms and feeling her sister's intense stare burning a hole on the back of her head.  
  
"What can I say, we suffer for our devotion."  
  
Brooklyn and Ephram stared each other down with fiery eyes as Jocelyn stood in the background, shaking her head, and proceeding to interrupt their tango of insults, "The reason we came by was to apologize for earlier."  
  
"She meant we came by to borrow a cup of sugar," Brooklyn corrected almost immediately, giving a small bittersweet smile for reassurance.  
  
"It sounded like your sister said you two came by to apologize," Ephram commented, amused at the frantic attitude this girl was displaying.  
  
"Well, we didn't. It's not exactly my fault the English language was invented in high anticipation of making some of it's words sound uncannily similar.  
  
"Still sounded like you wanted to apologize."  
  
"It's not my fault you have a hearing impediment either."  
  
"Brooklyn! I need to talk to you real quick," Jocelyn growled angrily while pulling on her sister's elbow to follow her to a corner of the front porch and smiling back at Ephram, signaling him to wait right there and not go anywhere.  
  
"I am not apologizing to 'something' that rude," Brooklyn hissed, pointing her finger over at the opened front door, and giving Ephram one more evil look before concentrating back on her sister.  
  
"Well, he wasn't exactly the only one if you get my drift, sister of mine," Jocelyn hissed back, grabbing her arm and putting it down by her side, "And it's not polite to point especially when the object of our conversation is staring right at us."  
  
"I don't care. There's no way I'm going to be responsible for inflating his ego any more than it already is."  
  
Jocelyn gave Brooklyn a sisterly look, almost begging her to reconsider her decision. It was almost a pathetic look as her bottom lip quivered and her eyes watered under fluttering eyelashes. It took a lot of her dignity away from her but she knew her sister would succumb to her advances because this maneuver had always worked in the past. No matter how much of a heinous bitch Brooklyn appeared to be, there was always a soft side inside of her heart for her family. She always opened up to the people who actually deserved her unveiling.  
  
Brooklyn growled, turned around, and stomped back to the front door of the Brown residence. Noticing Ephram wasn't there anymore, she raised her fist and knocked again to signal some kind of attention. But this time, instead of the Browns' eldest child, Andrew came to the door instead, his face still swarming in the friendliness it had at the moment she had met him. It made it easier for her to open up.  
  
"Listen...Doctor Brown, is it? Listen, I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted when I first introduced myself to you. It was extremely rude and I wish I could honestly take it back. I was just really bitter from the move here," Brooklyn explained sincerely, her voice softening as her eyes shone with remorse for her actions.  
  
Andy stood at the door in shock. He didn't expect this. Well, he didn't expect this that early. It took Ephram practically a couple of months for him to become accustomed to the town and actually swallow his pride to apology for his childish attitude. He didn't actually experience full recovery from his angst-ridden teenage alter-ego, but it was a start.  
  
"Hey, don't even worry yourself about it," Andrew proclaimed, giving the girls a wide smile, proving there was no grudge what-so-ever.  
  
"Great, now that we have that settled, I think my sister and I should get going. Nina's expecting us for dinner very soon," Brooklyn explained, giving a small smile of gratitude in return of the desired forgiveness. Maybe making new acquaintances wouldn't be as impracticably hard as she thought it would be.  
  
"It was nice seeing you again, Doctor Brown," Jocelyn called out, waving to the older man with a genuine smile creasing her cheeks into small dimples before turning around with her sister and beginning to wander back to the house they would have to accustom themselves to as their new home.   
  
"Hey, wait girls," Andy called out, leaning out of the small gap he had made when the door was partially opened to gain view of his previous guests, "Since there's no school tomorrow why don't you and my son take a trip around town. I'm sure he'll be up for the company and I think the three of you will have some fun on this little escapade."  
  
"I don't know. We have...."  
  
"We'd love to," Jocelyn interrupted, giving another smile at their friendly neighbor before giving her sister a reprimanding look, "wouldn't we, Brooklyn?"  
  
"Sure would," Brooklyn proclaimed in an almost Brady Bunch sort of way while producing a huge cheesy smile to mock her sister's own happy disposition and clapping her hands in sarcastic excitement.  
  
Andy smiled, ignoring Brooklyn's over-zealous response, and exclaimed, "Great, I'll run the plans by Ephram. Expect a call tomorrow morning."  
  
With that said, the world famous neurosurgeon gave one last wave and entered the warmth of his home, satisfied with the work he had just performed. It wasn't healthy for Ephram to always be locked up in his room and pine after a girl who didn't want him in return. Doctor Brown had promised his son he wouldn't interfere in his life, but Ephram would soon enough thank him when he made more friends and allowed his brooding alter ego to dissipate.  
  
"Before you say anything," Jocelyn declared, noticing Brooklyn's angry expression and clenched fists, "you promised you would meet new people and try to adjust! The sooner we start adjusting the easier it'll be."  
  
"Yeah, I'll adjust to people who don't test my patience."  
  
"Like you're first prize in that category."  
  
"I may not be first prize but at least I'm runner up which I can't necessary say the same for Mr. Personality over there," Brooklyn stated, nibbling on her lower lip as if signaling that the cold was getting extremely unbearable.  
  
"You're just pissed that you finally met your match. You know, eventually you will meet people who aren't afraid to take up a challenge and orally spar with you. Someone's going to at least once steal your lightening and you have to get used to it."  
  
"Whatever you say, Dr. Laura."  
  
Jocelyn rolled her eyes at her sister's childish attitude and followed her retreating form back into their aunt's house. One day Brooklyn will realize how stupid and pathetic she acted, and Jocelyn only hoped she'd unwrap the blind fold from her eyes and figure it out sooner than later.   
  
o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o  
  
"No way! There is no way I'm taking them around town!"  
  
Doctor Brown frowned down at his son and placed down the fork he was once using to shovel food from his plate into his mouth. He knew this wasn't going to be the easiest task but then again he never even imagined Ephram would act so dispirited against showing new people around town. New people who just so happened to be female and his own age.   
  
"Why not, Ephram? They're new and they need help now what kind of neighbor are you being by refusing to showing them around," Andy asked, allowing his mouth to twist itself into a disappointed and worried frown.  
  
"A smart not wanting to loose his mind neighbor. OK, maybe I'd give the grand tour to one of the twins, she seemed pretty cool. But the other was a complete shrew. Even if I'm guaranteed all access into heaven, I'd still refuse to spend one minuscule of a second in her close company," Ephram replied, playing with his food more than he considered actually eating it.  
  
"What's a shrew," Delia asked, imitating her brother's actions by stirring the what it appeared to be mashed potatoes in her plate as her large brown eyes looked up in curious inquiry.  
  
"A mean person," Andy explained, keeping his eyes strictly on Ephram, "Let's make a deal, you take them out and if they're not what you expected then u can make a U-turn and take them back to Nina's house. How does that sound?"  
  
"Like entrapment because I sense grave consequences if I don't do what you say," Ephram declared, dropping his fork into the mashed potatoes and glaring up at his father.  
  
"See, you were wrong when you said we didn't know each other!"  
  
Ephram mumbled something under his breath before producing a huge sigh of defeat. Tomorrow was going to be a complete disaster and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. People who said the life of a teenager was all candy and sunny days never were teenagers to begin with. Life really did suck. Hands down. 


End file.
